Aboriginal Territorial Rights and the Sovereignty of the Sakha Republic

Niches of agency: managing state-region relations through law in Russia

“…Its approach, based on the division of powers between centre and region outlined in the Russian Constitution (Russian Federation, 1993), has been one of using the legal system rather than pursuing separatism. The republic's own progressive and flexible legal approaches to protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and their 'traditional' activities, and providing them with greater territorial rights, have given it a reputation for leadership in this area, as has the fact that much of its legislation regarding Indigenous rights predated federal legislation and surpassed its (eventual) protections (Fondahl et al, 2000;Fondahl, Lazebnik, Poelzer, & Robbek, 2001;Kryazhkov, 2010). RS(Ya)'s local variants of laws and legal practices, as well as providing for geographically relevant adaptations, have served to resist erosion of RS(Ya)'s authority vis a vis Moscow (Ivanova & Stammler, 2017;Stammler & Ivanova, 2016).…”

“…one more year than provided by the FEH Law) ( Table 2). Originally envisioned as supported by the passage of a distinct law, the Yakut Hectare programme ultimately was accomplished by modification of RS(Ya)'s Land Codex, on 24 November 2016 (Federova, 2016;Sakha Republic, 2016). Verification that land is being used for proposed purpose after 5 years; if applicant has not pursued this development, s/he loses the land allotment.…”

“…While the law applies to all nine regions that constituted the Far East Federal District (FEFD) at the writing of this paper, 1 RS(Ya) stands out in several ways. It is territorially the largest region (comprising 50% of the FEFD); its vast richness of natural resources makes it economically critical for the Russian Federation; a non-Russian ethnic group, the Sakha (Yakuts), form the plurality of its population, and predominate among the regional elite holding political power; it has passed legislation on indigenous rights that significantly exceeds the protections offered by federal law (Fondahl, Lazebnik, & Poelzer, 2000;Ivanova & Stammler, 2017); and it has a track record of pursuing a higher level of self-determination more vigorously than most other regions (Balzer, 2016). Regions exert different pressures on the centre, using a variety of tactics, from armed insurrection to working within the system.…”

Linking Disparate Approaches to the Study of Social Norms: An Example from Northern Siberia

“…5 This, however, is a false dichotomy. Communal property, generosity and mutual aid have been observed in subsistence production societies across time and geographic areas (Barnard 2002(Barnard , 2004, and many indigenous peoples are returning to, or defending, these communal traditions in the present (e.g., Fondahl et al 2000) illustrating both structural constraints/openings and the effects of agency.…”

Arctic Social Indicators

“…In Sakha Republic (Yakutia), the land allocated to indigenous obshchinas can be used as an admittedly very imperfect proxy for this measure (Table 2.19). Obshchinas (roughly translating to "communities" or "communes") are collectives formed by indigenous numerically small peoples in order to pursue a "traditional" activity (reindeer husbandry, hunting, fishing) (Sirina 1999;Fondahl et al 2000). Obshchinas may apply for an allocation of land on which to pursue such "traditional" activities, and receive such, which is then allegedly at least partially protected from competing activities that might undermine the "traditional" ones, such as various forms of industrial development.…”